Kerry Pinkerton's Toy Box

Here is a brief interview we recently had with IML
member Kerry Pinkerton. All the pictures displayed on this page are from
Kerry's past and present herd. If you have any questions for Kerry, please feel
free to send him a message!

Introduction:

I'm the
guy who does some of the sagas and how-to's that are referenced on the
IML site. I don't do it because I think I'm good or even think
I know what I'm doing. I do them because I like to write and in
my past, there were many folks who shared my knowledge with me.
When I asked what I owed them they said "Just don't let it
die, share the knowledge and pass it on." Besides, at my
age, it's helpful to have a record of how I took things apart when I'm
trying to remember how to put it back together.

I really enjoy the building
process and am pretty fearless when it comes to tackling new things.
Back in 84, my wife and I built a 4000 sq foot house nearly by ourselves.
There was less than 10 grand in other peoples labor in everything.
Saved about 50% or more and everything was done exactly as we wanted
although my wife did have to sleep with her builder...

My fabrication interest
has led me into metal-shaping and for the past year or so I've built
or acquired some neat metal-shaping equipment including an English Wheel.

I've got a pretty decent
shop and a fair amount of tools and 'stuff' but I spent a lot of years
working on a gravel driveway in the rain. The 'stuff' has been
accumulated over a lifetime of being a car guy.

Not really sure, I think it was about 95.
When I was growing up, my Dad had a 61 Desoto (last year for the manqué
and the most butt ugly grill in the world). I always had the hots
(still do) for 61 Chryslers. While reading the want ads one night,
I saw an ad for a 61 Imperial. I had no idea what it looked like
but I hoped it looked like my desired 61 Chrysler. After all, it
is a Chrysler Imperial isn't it? :) It was nearby and still
daylight so I drove over. I was in decent shape. Some rust,
motor stuck but decent trim and apparently low mileage. Did
not really crank my tractor but it was cheap (600 bucks) so I bought
it. It has the silvercrest roof but no flitesweep decklid

They guy had a trailer and we pulled it home and I promptly stuck it in
a shed and ignored it. In November of 97, I saw another ad for a
57 Imperial coupe which I really liked. I bought it also and had
it hauled home on a rollback. It was then I was beginning to use
the internet and did a google search on 57 Imperial, found the IML, read
some of Tony Lindsay's sagas about his 61, joined the IML, and got
hooked.

Q: Do
you still own it?

Yes and two more. I bought Wayne
Davis' two 61's summer before last and drug them home from Dallas (I
live near Huntsville, Alabama) This was the same trip that we
picked up Jeff Carrothers 60 Crown. Drove to Jeff's in Jackson
Mississippi. Connected with Elijah Scott and Mark Harris and we
all drove over to Dallas in my GMC. Looked at the "pink"
61, was not impressed. Drove on to Abilene and got Jeff's 60
loaded on the trailer. Drove back to Dallas and decided to look at
the other 61. By this time I had talked myself into getting
them. I had a business meeting the next morning but by noon we
were on the road. Drove back to Jackson, unloaded the 60
crown. Slept a little and left at 4am to make a day trip to Dallas
to get the second 61. Got back to Jackson about midnight and the
next day I drove home with it. A couple weeks later Jeff, Robert
Soule, and I drove over and got the pink car. It was 101 degrees
and we loaded it with a hand winch. Fun road trips but I now have
an electric winch. Learned that lesson well.

Q:
What, if any, restoration did you do to that car?

Unfortunately, it and the other two are all parts
cars. The years have not been kind to the first car and it's now
stripped of trim and other things that would continue to deteriorate.
It's destined to be a donor for my "GeeA Limo" project (dte.net/57imperial/geea)
John Corey did a design study for me and this should be the way it looks
more or less. Probably not that color though. Maybe by then,
I'll be ready to build a black car.Ghia did not make limos
using the 61 for the basis. The 61 Ghias were based on the 60
Imperial. GeeA is a take off on how my redneck friends might pronounce
Ghia. It's a southern thing... maybe I'll work a confederate
flag into a cloisonné emblem (KIDDING) ...Dang boy, I ain't never
heard of no Geera car befur.

Q: What is your favorite
year Imperial?

I like all the finned cars
especially. Pre-69 is a favorite because they are simpler.
I've had two 73 Imperials and while I enjoyed the process of
restoration, I did not enjoy ditzing with all the doodads, solenoids,
and miscellaneous other 'stuff'. I really, really, dislike getting
upside down under a dash.Q: Why is it
your favorite? What do you find appealing about that particular
year?

It would have to be a
57-58 Imperial convertible with factory air. Simple car, great
styling, ragtop, 392 hemi, worth a ton.

Q: Do you have a
favorite Imperial gadget or styling
feature?

I've GROWN to like the styling of the
61's. It took several years. The freestanding headlights are
just so outrageous. Fins of course. I also just love the way
73's look at night with that rear side light lit up. Looks like a
starship.

Q: Any other
automotive gadget or styling feature that you like or would like to
own?

Gadgets are hard to work on and are
usually broken when I get my cars so I prefer the simple cars. The
66 300 I'm currently restoring is simple to work on. Motor, trans,
AC, 4 tires...

Q:
What does your Mopar collection consist of?

Addiction is more like it although
I've thinned the herd somewhat in the past year.

50 Crown Imperial Limo

50 Imperial Crown (parts car) You
can see it next to the 60 T&C below. I bought it for 4 perfect
hubcaps and the left front inner fender. Wasn't worth the 500
bucks I gave for it given I had to go to Cleveland to get it.
Ah well, got to spend some time with my favorite Uncle.

57 Imperial coupe Now a customized
roadster in process (the car in the 57 saga at dte.net/57imperial)

38 Studebaker Coupe Express
(Pickup, street rod project, 1 of 1000), kind of sold if the guy
ever comes to get it.

72 Montego that's been in my
family since new

67 Mustang I restored with/for my
youngest son when he turned 16. The 64 Impala we did for my
oldest son was sold a few years back. He'll regret it but
neither one of them got the old car bug in spite of my efforts to be
contagious.

Q: Which car
has been your favorite and why?

It
would have to be Eisenhower, the 54 Imperial. Wonderful car. 54K
mile original. Working factory air. Near showroom
chrome. Drove great. It was just worth too much for me to
'restore' as much as I wanted to. Like Dick Benjamin says,
"You can restore a car as often as you wish, but it's only original
once."

Q: What are your
future plans for your present collection?

I've
discovered/decided that it's really hard for me to keep more than 3
'drivers' up. These are old cars and they always need
attention. Attention is not something I particularly enjoy.
If you haven't figured it out from my sagas, I'm a fabricator.
Diddling with carbs, points, etc and doing TLC isn't as much fun for me
as building a new one. I'm really looking forward to the GeeA
project because I'll get to get very creative, use my machine tools,
make lots of sparks with the welder, and make some neat body panels
using my metalshaping tools.

The
66 300 is a wonderfully fun car to drive. It was a 2 owner car and
the guy I bought it from on 9/11/03 bought it from the original dealer
as a trade-in in 1968. He had the motor, trans, radiator, brakes,
etc all done about 1000 miles back. He was getting ripped by his
mechanic. The carb had been built twice and when I drove the car
it killed ever mosquito in the county with the black smoke. The
floats were upside down. He had also been told the AC (which had
just quit working and was probably the last straw for him) was going to
need 'everything', to the tune of 1000 bucks. It was low on freon
and I put 12 oz of Duracool in it and it works great. This is the
same place that told him his front end was shot so he ordered 600 bucks
worth of front end parts (EVERYTHING) from Just Suspensions. I
took it to a front end shop and the only thing that was wrong was a
broken sway bar bracket which I welded. I feel sorry for the old
guy. He was crying as I drove off. I'm looking forward to
taking him for a ride when I finish it.

The
68 Convertible is next. I bought this car from my good friend
Robert Soule. He had done the brakes and most the mechanicals
which I don't enjoy anyway. The car had been wrecked years back
and poorly repaired. I took it to a frame shop and they pulled the
front end THREE INCHES!!! Its a low mileage car with a nice
interior and will make a very nice car. Not sure if I'll keep it
or sell it when I get it finished.

Then
I'll get to start on the GeeA limo which should take a good while.

At
some point, I'll do the disk brakes on the 50 Crown Limo. Once
it's running, I'll have to decide if I want to keep it or sell it and
let someone else finish it. The chrome work will be expensive and
I normally don't like to spend much money on things I can't do myself.

After
that I might get back to the 57 Imperial Sports Roadster.

This
is probably 6-10 years worth of projects if you throw in miscellaneous
work I do for other people like patch panels and paint jobs. If I get
all that done, I'll probably be old enough that I'll be thinking of
slowing down. Or course, who knows what neat car will show up
tomorrow just begging to follow me home.....

Q: Do you have any, "I
can't believe I let that car get away from me"
stories?

I
missed a MG TC and a 190 SL Mercedes roadster when I was in my
20's. Just waited too long. I'm too cheap and risk adverse.

Q: Do you have any
funny or interesting stories about purchasing an old
car?

Well
the trips to Dallas to get the 61's were a blast. But dealing with
Mr. King on the 54 was really unique.

This car was purchased
from Mr. King of Guntersville, Alabama and had been stored for years,
probably 12+ years in an unheated store building in the small town of
Town Creek, Alabama.

Mr. King is an original
piece of work. I saw the car when we went to get Jeff Carrothers
56 Imperial but he would not quote a price. I could not stop thinking
about it and during the Anniston gathering I called him and he quoted
me a price out of a 6 year old price guide. I said 'yes' on Saturday
and the following Monday, I took him a check.

I went into his clothing
store in Guntersville and we were looking at some photos of his cars.
He pointed at a picture of a 54 and said, "That's the one you're
trying to buy." Quickly I pulled the cashiers check from
my pocket, handed it to him and replied, "Trying hell!"
During my visit, he realized he had quoted me a low price but it did
not seem to bother him and I certainly did not offer to pay more than
we had agreed.

I've had a lot of fun
going on road trips to get some of these cars since I retired a couple
years back. I've been to Dallas/Abiline twice, Cleveland, Moline
Il, Tampa, Dallas and twice to Rockford Il. The trip to Rockford
for the 50 limo was kind of interesting.

It was originally listed
on Ebay but I was outbid by a guy in Rockford, Il. The car was
in the DC area and I contacted the winner expressing an interest in
the car and inviting him to join the IML. He decided he wanted
the car to drive people to his diner (??) and had no idea what he had
bought or what he was getting into. He had the car hauled to Rockford
and immediately decided he was in over his head and emailed me.
I tentatively offered him what he paid on Ebay but not his transportation
costs. In mid April I drove from Alabama to Rockford to buy the
car but when I saw the condition of the chrome and pot metal I offered
him 2 grand less than he wanted. He passed and I came home with
an empty trailer.. Six weeks later, he had decided he needed to get
rid of the car and I gave him 500 more than my original offer.
He had not been able to get a clear title which is not an issue in Alabama
pre 76.. He lost about 2 grand on the deal. ANOTHER 1500 mile
trip later the Crown is at his new home.

Q: Are there any other collector cars (besides
Imperials) that you would like to own??

I keep expecting to find a
61 300 convertible in some little old ladies barn for little of
nothing. I have a set of cross rams that I got with the deal for
the 60 Newport but really need something neat to put them on.

Q: Do you belong to any other antique car
clubs?

No

Q: What was the best car show you ever
attended?

By far my favorite events
are the Anniston and Chattanooga gatherings. Chryslers at Carlisle
is a great event and I've been the last two years and plan on going for
many more. I'm not into showing with cars that only have to look
good. I've seen too many "Senior" AACA cars that would
barely run.